The DAWA 2016 judging panel
The Decanter Asia Wine Awards (DAWA) was set up in 2012 to offer wine lovers across Asia a reliable source of wine recommendations. Since the launch of the competition, Decanter has recruited a judging panel of Asia’s most influential and expert wine palates.
Coming from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Korea, and Taiwan, the DAWA 2016 judging panel consists of over 40 judges, ranging from sommeliers to wine writers, wine educators to importers. The panel is chaired by Steven Spurrier, and led by a group of experienced and internationally renowned vice-chairs including Shinya Tasaki, Li Demei, Andrew Jefford, Michael Hill Smith MW, Gerard Basset MS MW, and Ch’ng Poh Tiong. The entire panel’s extensive experience of the wine industry in Asia makes them ideally placed to taste and score the wines entered into the Decanter Asia Wine Awards in order to give recommendations to wine lovers across Asia.
The results are released on Decanter.com in October each year and are supported by a series of retail promotions and special events. Results include detailed wine information and are published alongside available stockist information so that readers wanting to enjoy the wines themselves know where to purchase them.
Read more about the credentials of individual Decanter Asia Wine Awards judges.
DAWA vice-chair: Shinya Tasaki
Shinya Tasaki is the President of the Japanese Sommelier Association and the A.S.I. Best Sommelier of the World 1995.
DWWA Judge profile: Li Demei
Li Demei is a DecanterChina.com contributor and a professor and director of Enology Engineering at Beijing Agriculture College.
DAWA vice-chair: Andrew Jefford
Andrew Jefford who has been writing about wine since the 1980s, contributes a column every month to Decanter magazine.
DAWA vice-chair: Gerard Basset MS MW
Vice-Chair Gerard Basset MS MW was Decanter’s Man of the Year 2013.
DAWA vice-chair: Michael Hill-Smith MW
Michael Hill-Smith MW is a wine producer, international wine judge and wine consultant.
DAWA vice-chair: Poh Tiong Ch’ng
A lawyer by training, Poh Tiong Ch'ng published the world’s first Chinese Bordeaux Guide in 2000.
DAWA judge profile: David Wainwright
Founder of fine wine service provider Wainwright Advisors, David Wainwright is a judge at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019
DAWA judge profile: Yoichi Sato
Yoichi Sato, owner and sommelier of Maxivin restaurant in Tokyo, is a judge at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019
DWWA judge profile: Ying Hsien Tan MW
Wine speaker, educator and writer, Ying Hsien Tan MW qualified as the first Singaporean Master of Wine in 2015.
DAWA judge profile: Simon Hong
DAWA judge profile: Silven Wong
Silven Wong, wine buyer for casino hotel MGM Macau, is a judge at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019
DAWA judge profile: Satoru Mori
Satoru Mori, award-winning Executive Sommelier, is a judge in the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2018.
DAWA judge profile: Kiyoshi Hoshimi-Caines
Sake professional and Head Sommelier at Yardbird and Ronin in Hong Kong, Kiyoshi Hoshimi-Caines is a judge at the Decanter
DAWA judge profile: Jean-Marie Pratt
A recent recruit to the team at LIBER, Shanghai based Jean-Marie Pratt is a judge at the Decanter Asia Wine
DAWA judge profile: Corinne Mui
Accredited Wine Educator and Member of the Institute of Wines and Spirits, Corinne Mui, is a judge at the Decanter
DAWA judge profile: Arnaud Echalier
Arnaud Echalier, the Senior Beverage Manager for Sands Resorts Macao, is a judge at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019
DAWA judge profile: Annette Scarfe MW
DAWA judge profile: Mandy Chan
DAWA judge: Donghyuk Shin
DAWA judge profile: Magandeep Singh
Magandeep Singh, a sommelier, TV presenter and acclaimed wine writer from India, is a judge at the Decanter Asia Wine
DAWA judge profile: Yohann Jousselin MS
Yohann Jousselin MS, Area Sommelier at Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, is a judge at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019
DAWA judge profile: Hervé Pennequin
DAWA judge: Nigel Chan
DAWA judge: Ying Guo
Ying Guo, senior sommelier for Four Seasons hotels in China, is a judge in the Decanter Asia Wine Awards (DAWA).
DAWA judge profile: Yin How Wong
Yin How Wong, Managing Director of Vintry Group Wine Bars and Restaurants in Malaysia, is a judge at the Decanter
DAWA judge profile: Jeremy Stockman
Jeremy Stockman, general manager of Watson's Wine in Hong Kong, is a judge in the Decanter Asia Wine Awards (DAWA).
